Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers would pay up to 8 percent more for water to fund millions of dollars in improvements to the utility’s aging water pipes and pumping stations under a budget presented Tuesday.

The proposed rate hikes, which could be blocked by the City Council, come on top of a 4.5 percent hike approved by the City Council in April following weeks of public opposition to the plan.

But even in April, the DWP warned that it would be back asking for more money to cover the cost of replacing miles of outdated water pipes and bringing its energy systems into compliance with modern regulations.

“We continue to have ongoing programs to upgrade our infrastructure and meet regulatory compliance,” Interim General Manager Austin Beutner said in presenting the budget to the DWP commission.

“We are talking about pumping and covered reservoirs and switching from chlorine to chloramine. We are replacing trunk links, pumping stations and pressure stations.”

Beutner said the water rate hikes are expected to be in the 3 to 4 percent range for Tier 1 customers, which covers most residential users, and up to 8 percent for Tier 2 customers, or residential users who use much more than the average customer.

A 4 percent hike would raise the average water customer’s every-other-month bill of $67.77 by $2.71.

Exact details of the rate increases will be worked out over the coming weeks. Ultimately, the Board of Water and Power Commissioners and the City Council must approve the rate hikes. The budget also is expected to go to the full City Council this week.

Commission President Lee Kanon Alpert said the rate increases are disturbing, but understandable.

“As much as we’re trying to meet all the requirements on … renewable energy and water safety, it all costs money,” Alpert said.

“When we get all these mandates, what isn’t coming is a source of funding. It all comes from our ratepayers.”

Overall, the budget shaves $263 million from last year’s budget, Buetner said. It also provides for a $257 million transfer to the general fund as budgeted by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to balance his $6.7 billion spending plan.

Beutner, who is in the process of seeking a permanent general manager for the agency, had held up release of the budget until he had more time to review it and present it in a form understandable to the public.

To make it easier to digest, Beutner put the main points of the budget on a PowerPoint presentation. He also listed the exact number of power poles and miles of pipeline the utility has to maintain.

Many of the costs facing the agency are repairs and replacements for aging infrastructure – made all too clear last summer by an embarrassingly high number of water pipeline breaks.

For instance, last year the DWP replaced 2,600 of its 289,000 power poles – 53 percent of which are more than 50 years old. This year’s budget calls for replacing 25 miles of the 7,200 miles of pipeline in a system in which 64 percent of the pipes are more than 50 years old.

As part of his push for more openness, Beutner has planned at least two public meetings to explain the budget.

“This is a new approach for the department,” Beutner said, noting that in addition to cutting this year’s budget, he has implemented a hiring freeze on all but critical positions. “We have launched a review of all aspects of the department.”

The city is working toward a goal set by Villaraigosa to have 20 percent of its energy come from renewable sources such as wind and solar power, which have higher start-up costs. But while recent rate hikes will help the department stay on course to meet the goal, more rate hikes will be needed if the city is going to achieve it, Commissioner Jonathan Parfrey said.

Beutner said he hopes to have a long-term strategic plan ready in the next week that lays out an agenda for the agency, as well as details of the plan for a ratepayer advocate.

The DWP also has released a request for proposals to hire a firm to review all the land holdings of the utility to determine how it can maximize its property ownership.

To respond to complaints over the billing system, Beutner said the city-owned utility is working to update the out-of-date system. Plans include allowing customers to pay online and giving them an option of paying monthly.